I live in Kerrisdale in Vancouver, British Columbia. My neighborhood is on the west side of Vancouver and consists mainly of old bungalows and newer houses, various condo apartments, and low and mid-range rentals. Kerrisdale’s population comprises mainly migrant Asians and native and indigenous Caucasian Canadians. West 41st Avenue has a shopping district that is a significant social sector of this region. The southwestern part of Kerrisdale rests on a floodplain of the Fraser River and is characterized by a rural feel with many horse stables, agricultural farms, and ranches.

Majury identifies that the first inhabitants of the city of Vancouver arrived in the area during the last glacial period.[1] Vancouver has been a center of human settlement, trade, and meetings for thousands of years. Humans started settling in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia as far back as 8,000-10,000 years ago.[2] The settlement coincided with the last ice age when the glaciers began to recede. According to Masuda and Crabtree, the area was initially referred to as S’ólh Téméxw, and the first settlers occupied an encampment at the mouth of the Fraser River.[3] A Spanish explorer, José Maria Narváez, was the first European to explore the Fraser River encampment in 1791. However, it was not until 1862 when Europeans settled in Vancouver. The delayed settlement was due to the power of the Squamish over the land and the Fraser River. When the Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed, the region opened up to the outside world, leading to rapid growth and development. For instance, Chinese settlers formed a significant part of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) settlers, with other Asians and Europeans settling later.

The name “Kerrisdale” was coined in 1905 from a family home located in Kerrydale, Scotland. As indicated by the City of Vancouver, originally, Kerrisdale was a part of the Municipality of Point Grey and the Municipality of South Vancouver.[4] The towns amalgamated in 1929; thus, most of the avenue and street names were developed around this period. Kerridam is lined with sweeping exotic and grand old trees. According to the City of Vancouver, the first settlers in Kerrisdale were the Irish McCleery brothers, Fitzgerald and Samuel, who settled in Kerrisdale in 1867 as meadow farmers along the Fraser River.[5] Around this time, the Stevenson fish canning industry began to thrive, raising the demand for more workers; hence, the government constructed a railway from Lulu Island to Vancouver named the “Sockeye Special.” The railways traversed through the heart of the growing town of Kerrisdale and opened up its residents to the outside world.

Kerrisdale’s ecosystem comprises abundant animal and plant life. The variety of resources provided sufficient raw materials and food that have sustained the residents for over 10,000 years.[6] By the time the Europeans settled in the area, the indigenous people had achieved significant cultural growth and food gathering skills. The winter villages were mainly constructed from the Western Red cedar Wood and composed of large plank houses.

Due to early seettlers’ influence, Kerrisdale attracted a semi-rural setting. Various styles were used in home construction, such as the Beaux Art, Spanish Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and English Arts and Crafts.[7] There are historic mansions such as the Barton Home constructed in 1913 by renowned architects Maclure and Fox. In addition, the Casa Maria and Rio Vista estates are remarkable indicators of the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, while the Ryerson United Church, built in 1927, is also a significant landmark in Kerrisdale due to its conspicuous corner tower and a steeply-pitched gable roof.

The Great Vancouver Forest in the south of Kerrisdale is significant for big old trees in the lush temperate rainforest. The rainforest possesses old trees with over 1300 years that can rise to approximately 86 meters.[8] The area has several tree species: tall grand fir, Pacific yews, western hemlock, Douglas fir, champion amabilis fir, giant black cottonwood, big leaf maple, and red alder. Although the remarkable forests comprise a great part of the local cultural, economic, and heritage, many urban residents are disconnected from the forests and nature. The City of Vancouver suggests that lumbering was the earliest industry in the region, dating back to 1863.[9] Sawmills and lumber industries thrived since the region possessed the largest and tallest trees. For instance, the tall trees effectively produced masts for the Royal Navy vessels and the windjammer fleets. Among the most famous sales of the trees harvested from this region was a special order from the Celestine Emperor of China. The special order requested dozens of strong beams to construct the Gate of Heavenly Peace and engaged sawmill and lumber workers from diverse backgrounds, such as Scandinavia and China.

1. Niall Majury, “Signs of the Times: Kerridale, A Neighborhood in Transition,” The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien38, no. 3 (1994):
2. Majury, “Signs of the Times,” 265.
3. Jeffrey R. Masuda and Alexis Crabtree, “Environmental justice in the therapeutic inner city,” Health & Place16, no. 4 (2010):
4. City of Vancouver, “Kerrisdale,” City of Vancouver, accessed February 6, 2022, https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/kerrisdale.aspx.
5. City of Vancouver, “Kerrisdale.”
6. City of Vancouver, “Kerrisdale.”
7. City of Vancouver, “Kerrisdale.”
8. City of Vancouver, “Kerrisdale.”
9. City of Vancouver, “Kerrisdale.”